Convertible wheel chair



`Ivuly 24, 1951 H. A. EvEREsT Erm. 2,561,616

CONVERTIBLE WHEEL CHAIR Filed NOV. l, 1946 Patented July 24, 1951 i CONVERTIBLE wHEEnfcHAIR ..Herbert ille-.Everest andfHarry C., Jennings,

1 Lcsl Angeles, .Ca1if. AliplicatintNovelnber 1, 1946, .Serial N0. 107,134

l *This invention relates to Lfa ,convertible-wheel chain l `n primaryobject of fthe inventionvis nto provide an improvedwheel chair `whereinmthe large drive wheelsconventionally employedand "the caster `wheels likewise conventionally em-- `lployed may be optionallyimounted on either the Efront'crfrear legs ofthe chair.`

Heretofore wheel chairs have `been constructed f. fftwo generally prevailing types. ffl-In. onerof .these *types the large `drive `-wheelsv-areinflountedtper- Lmanently on the rear legsaofthe chainandklthe- ...chairconsists essentially vof two opposed iside frames vEach side'frame is preferably constructfedgofihollow"tubing bentzto provide avertical frontleg I`0. and a substantially 'verticalrear `leg `by arm rest providing porti-ons indicated Aat--I2. `Thei'rf lower ends "maybe connected andsbraced 4 such as by rungs I`3.

fora-wheel chair manufacturer to manufacture'"` a sing-le` type or stylefofwheel chair and keep it in stock. At the time of sale or delivery the drive wheels may be optionallymounted on either the front oribackulegs and .the-:easter .-wheelsvcan which are not utilized .by-theldrive wheels. In some instances wheel chairs are desirable that `have Ano drive wheels but, lfinstead, fourcaster "wheels," 'and the present construction permits the l f2 T'Ff. is. a viewindront elevation Aof the .chair i Eig. .4 l is a vertical ,section taken.: substantially .,uponthe line `4-4,.on Fig. .1 to illustrate ,adetail of .constructiom .and

.tE- ig.. 5,. is apartial viewin vertical4 sectionltaken substantially upon .the line '5-.5 onFig vl to ..1'llustrate a .detail of construction.

Referring to 4the accompanying drawings whereinsimilar reference characters designate similar parts throughout, the improved wheel I I 'LThese'legs are connected at'their upper ends `Apollapsible `seat |14 connects the side frames'to-permit them-to be moved towards eachother to 'collapselthe chair fand, while the construction of'thiscollapsibleseatmay Vary greatly, the seat illustrated consists merely :offront andrear X `braces I5 pivotedat their flower ends to the llegs VIIJ `and Ill-and `pivoted braces I 6"w`hich, when' the Xl bracesare extended, provide shoulders I1 engageablerwithfthe under sides of the upper ends of the X bracesctollimit their extending movement. Affabric seat. I8.con

nectsflongitudinallyextending bars at the :upper likewise be optionally mountedI on @those legs ends "of the X braces.

. Handles l I9 Varefrigidly 'secured to the rearfsides Aof the rear `legs f I I and extend upwardlyv there- Awheel chair to be readily converted so aslIto-@avoid f 'the use/ofthe drive-wheelsfan`d Yuse fourfcaster "wheels if V:this -is desired. -T-hese 'changes inf converting thechairfrom one `Vstyle-to another f can be accomplished --either at the "time of -'salefor delivery, or aty anyrtimegt-hereafter by the purchasernr user of the chair. j

.Withthe foregoing andother objectslinview which will be made "manifest in theifollowing "detailed description Vand specifically pointed out in the appended claims, reference is had to the accompanying drawings for an illustrative embodiment of the invention, wherein:

Figure l is a View in side elevation of the improved chair illustrating the chair as having the drive wheels mounted on the rear legs thereof and the caster wheels on the forward legs thereof;

Fig. 2 is a similar View illustrating the wheel chair as having been converted so as to have the drive wheels forwardly;

from. :A fabric-backrest connects'these handles andwhen thechair is iniextended position theback rest is: substantially taut to provideffa back 'for the chair. mounted on theup-perends off these handles and, I inthe preferred form of construction,v the han- Handle grips'ZI may `be `dles `incline rearwardly `from the i upper `-ends -;of .the rear' legs I I. so that the' back rest-20 is'slightly inclined TheV lower ends'may `be bent rearwardly, as at22,tofprovide foot rests bywhich Ilthe .chair `and 'the occupant may be tilted 1in 45 `.traversing curbs or other inequalities.

In the `front andrear legs I0 `and `I I there are welded or otherwise rigidly secured internally threaded thimbles 23. These are located at approximately the same elevation intermediate the top and bottom ends of these legs. The drive wheels 24 are equipped with axles 25 having threaded extensions 26 that may be screwed into these thimbles and locked in position therein such as by lock nuts 2l. The lower ends of the legs I0 and II are left open soI as to receive the stems 2 8 of caster wheels 29. Preferably these stems are equipped with split expansion rings 30 disposed in grooves 3l on the stems and which may expand into shallow grooves 32 in the bottoms of the legs lil and Il so as to releasably hold the caster wheels in their respective legs.

It will be appreciated that any other suitable mounting means may be employed for detachably mounting the drive wheels- 24 'on either of the legs I or Il and that any other means for detachably mounting the caster wheels 29 on the legs may likewise be employed. 33 indicatesa conventional type of foot rest ithai'p` may `be optionally mounted on the frontvlegs IIJ.

From the above described construction it will be appreciated that the frame and seat of the chair may be constructed of, a single design and kept in stock as such. At the time of ,sale ,or delivery, if the purchaser desires the drive attached to the front legs Il] and the caster wheels 29 attached to the rear legs Il, thefdrive rwheels may be mounted, using the thimbles 23 on the front legs,and the caster wheels may be inserted in the open lower ends of the rear legs Il. On'the other hand, if it is desired to convert the wheel chair to have the drive wheels `on'the rear vlegs and the caster wheels on the front legs, the

axles of the drive wheels may be detachedv from wheels the front legs and applied to the rear legs and: l

the caster wheels applied to the open lower ends of the front legs. In this form of construction rthe seat I8 is preferably constructed perfectly kand scope of the invention as defined by the.

horizontal instead of having a rearward inclination or slope. position for the drive wheels and castor wheels is selected, the seat will retain'its proper position.

If it is desired to eliminate the drive wheels and employ four caster wheels,V additional caster Consequently, regardless of whichI Wheels may be substituted for the drive wheels..

and inserted in the open lower ends of any of the legs. Y

Various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit appended claims.

,We claim: j

1. An invalids chair comprising a pair of simixlar side frameseach of which includes a front leg and a rear leg, means connecting the frames .forholding them in spaced relation to each other,

each of said legs having an axle-receiving device,

said devices being similar in construction C and i,located at the same level with respect to the lower ends of said legs, a pair of same diameter, an axle projecting from each of the drive Wheels, the axle-receiving device ofone v leg of each side frame detachably receiving one lof said axles, ,mountable in said said axles being interchangeably .similar in construction to each other, each caster wheel having a yoke with a stern projecting ,therefrom, the lower portions of the legs having formations similar to each other and adapteduto devices, a pair of casterwheels,

drive wheels of the` drive wheels of the same diameter, an axle projecting from each of the drive wheels, the axlereceiving device on one leg of each side frame y detachably mounting one of said axles, a pair of caster wheels similar in construction to each other, eachcaster wheel having a yoke with a stem thereon, the bottoms of the legs being downwardly open and being formed similarly to each other and adapted to receive the stems, and means detachably securing the stem of acaster `wheel in the downwardly opened bottom Vof the other leg of each of the side frames.

, 3.l An invalids wheel chair comprising a pair of side frames each of which includes a front leg and a rear leg, means connecting the frames for holding them .in a spaced relation to each other, internally threaded thimbles mounted -one oneach of the legs intermediate the top and ybottom thereof, and said thimbles lying in the same horizontal plane, a pair of drive Wheels of' the same diameter, an axle projecting from each of the drive wheels, said axles having threaded extensions receivable in any of the threaded thimbles and detachably secured one in the threaded thimble of one leg of each side frame, a pair of caster wheels similar in construction to each other, each caster wheel having a yoke with a stem thereon, means at the bottoms of the legs similar in construction to each other adapted to interchangeably receive the stems, and to `de- :tachably secure the stems in each of said means, 4a stem of a caster wheel beingv secured in the means at the bottom of the other leg of each `side frame.

y HERBERT A. EVEREST.

HARRY C. JENNINGS..

REFERENCES CITED f :The following references are of record in the le of this patent:A UNITED STATES PATENTS -Number Name Date 924,177 Moore Jan. 8, 1909 1,394,224 Scott k Oct. 18, 1921 2,354,949 Ducavitch Aug. 1, 1944 2,379,566 Duke July 3, 1945 2,431,112 1 Everest et al Nov. 18, 1947 2,459,066 Duke Jan. 11, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS -Number Country Date l 110,122 Great Britain Oct. 11, 191'7 223,747 Switzerland J all. 4, 1943 

